A Chance To Fly
by Celesdragon
Summary: I suck at these summeries.. This made it into the Neopian Times a while back.


"Don't be late, Don't be late!"  
  
Sheraw repeated over and over in his head as he jumped and ran through the area of the Mystery Island Forest separating his family's house and their cousins'. He spared a glance upwards through the canopy to spot silver, red and yellow pairs of wings making their way through the sky. Not for the first time did he wish for wings, instead of four white paws that kept him earthbound. The Kougra spat a mild curse as he tripped over a branch and let the package he was carrying slip go. He and his family of Shoyrus were already late for the party and he did not need to show up late, dirty, and with a broken present. Last week they had shown up late with his oldest cousin's present and missed when she had received her new Anubis. C.D. had been absolutely furious! That hadn't been his fault that time, Shoka had taken too long at the dock haggling for some fruit. This was the time though, he moaned as he made his way to the edge of the forest and out onto the lane where Litanime's house was. Why did he have to be the only one that had to run through the forest, everyone else could fly above and not get dirty. Seeing his sisters and brother already at the door, he put on an extra bit of speed and got to the door breathless seconds after Shoka.  
  
"Late again?" rumbled Skanranon, Litanime's huge silver Eyrie who was holding the door. Skan hadn't meant to sound so mean, but in Sheraw's mood it sounded horrible. Sheraw greeted the Eyrie and quickly walked away and into the main room of the house. He was instantly overwhelmed by an array of colours, species, and various PetPets who had invaded the house in honor of Lita's second pet's one year birthday. Attempting to step over a pair of Gruslens wrestling on the floor, he looked around for somewhere to put the present. His cousins, Burrakki and Aquadra, waved him over to the solid oak table that was the center of the dining room. "You look a mess, what you do, trip in the mud on the way here?" At Sheraw's silent downwards gaze, the painted pets started laughing. "You're almost a match for Burrakki's colour!" The shadowed Gelert pushed the mud splattered Kougra into the bathroom. "Here, take a towel and try to wash off. C.D. will have a fit if she saw you in anything less than your best white." With that, the pair left to join the party and run crowd control.  
  
A few minutes later, he reentered the dining room cleaned. He looked around for anyone he knew, and spotted his Shoyru sisters in the middle of a huge group of various painted and plainfurs. Celes was comparing her red fur to that of a red Aisha, while Ghardi had found her boyfriend, Deraxyl, and had moved to the back of the crowd to talk to him in quiet. They were giggling over something, probably the red Aisha Celes was talking to. Shoka was listening to a pair of greenish Wockys by the door. He knew of a few others in the crowd which consisted mainly of Shoyrus, Aishas, and a few random faerie pets. Too many winged pets he noticed, instantly jealous. He left the room, searching out someone else to talk to. He found his owner, C.D., in the Dragon den, Litanime's lounge. She was deep in a conversation with several other owners. A few rooms later he was attempting to avoid Skan, the Eyrie seemed to be following him for some reason. Skanranon and Sheraw did not get along even at the best times.  
  
"Hey little brother!" He blinked and turned to see another Kougra's face.   
  
"Earthsky!" he exclaimed.   
  
"What do you think so far of the party, little brother?"   
  
The red Kougra laughed, knowing his hatred of crowds. She had always called him "little brother" even though she was only his cousin, it was a sense of closeness for the only two Kougras in a huge extended family. He teased her back, knowing she didn't like so much attention, even if it was her birthday. He handed over the present and wished her a happy year, before leaving to finish exploring.  
  
He decided to head up to the second floor room that had only recently been built. It was an open air room, made for the flying pets to land at when they came home. He loved the room, and was waiting for C.D. to build one for the Shoyrus in his family. He found no one up there, and settled down in front of the huge window to let the wind finish drying his fur. He never heard the pet come up behind him until it cleared it's throat. The Kougra jumped before realising it was Skanranon. He dreaded the words that were coming, Skan never said anything to him that wasn't "in his best interest".   
  
"How's it going?" the Eyrie asked, shocking the Kougra into silence.   
  
The Eyrie sat next to him and stared out into the sky. Sheraw stared up at the silver-feathered pet before turning back to looking at clouds. "I noticed you didn't seem to want to talk to any of the other pets, so I figured I'd come up and see what's bugging you." The Kougra thought about answering with an attitude, but decided to ask what was really bothering him.   
  
"What's it like to fly?" he asked, watching Skan turn to look at him in shock.   
  
"That's what's bothering you?!" the Eyrie couldn't stop from laughing.  
  
Sheraw now even more in a bad mood, ignored him for a few seconds before answering.   
  
"Everyone else in my family can fly, Celes, Ghardi, even Shoka! And you and Aquadra can too. I'm the only groundpounder in my whole family. I want to fly! And between taking care of four of us, C.D. can't afford to buy a Faerie paintbrush! The only people who are willing to sell a brush cheap are thieves. Do you know what it's like to want to experience something so bad it hurts?" Sheraw emphasized by thawing his paw onto the wooden floor.   
  
The Eyrie regarded him in silence and turned to look at the sky again. "Actually... I do," he answered, "You know the gallery under Neopia Central? There's a painting there... of a desert Eyrie. The Faeries have never made a desert brush that could paint us, but someone painted one on canvas anyway. Since the first time I saw it, I've always wanted to be painted that way. Silver is a great colour, especially for Eyries, but that painting..." The Eyrie shook his head and kept staring out into the sky.  
  
"I know what it's like to want something so bad it hurts. I know what you feel like, trust me." The Kougra watched the other pet reach into a pouch hidden behind one of his wings. He pulled out what looked like hairs or bristles. "Unlike me, there can be something done for you. A while ago, I was wandering the Rainbow Pool with a fellow Eyrie. He works there, protecting the pool from jokesters. When I asked him about Eyrie brushes, he gave these to me. They're bristles from a faerie brush, he meant for me to try them whenever the faeries decided to make a Faerie Eyrie. Since it's only a few bristles, the affects are temporary, about an hour or so. A trial period, I guess."   
  
He placed the precious bristles on the floor, between the two pets. "I've given up my dream of being Faerie instead for becoming Desert. I think you should try these, if you wish to try flying." With that, the Eyrie opened his wings and took off into the sky, leaving a silver feather to float and land next to the precious bristles.  
  
Sheraw stared at the small pile of miracles, before using the feather to pick up the brush remains and stuffed it all into his pouch hidden around his neck. He rushed down the stairs, deciding whether or not to tell C.D. about Skan's gift. He hung a quick left out the door, neatly avoiding the crowd of Lupes and Chias staring down each other and ran out the door, yelling a Hi - Bye to the few he recognised. He knew he had about two hours before the party would be over, and just once... he would like to feel the wind blow under his wings while soaring above the island. Just for even the small time Skan had given him, he would endure a lifetime of being grounded by the limits of being a normal Kougra. 


End file.
